


Of Shadows and Ashes

by Pika_the_Chuu



Category: HoloEN, Hololive, holoMyth
Genre: F/F, POV First Person, V-tuber
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-06
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-12 04:33:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29879124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pika_the_Chuu/pseuds/Pika_the_Chuu
Summary: The reaper looks back on her tangled relationship with a certain phoenix as civilization rises and falls in the backdrop of eons.
Relationships: Mori Calliope/Takanashi Kiara
Comments: 4
Kudos: 62





	Of Shadows and Ashes

Do you remember the first day we met? Not as Mori and Kiara, but as other people.

I remember it clearly.

It was a few centuries ago. Sensei had told me to get out into the world and mingle with mortals so that I could learn ‘what the duty is really about.’ I didn’t see the point to be honest. You reap the souls of those that pass on and move on to the next right? But sensei had a different opinion on the matter. For him, it was important to learn the weight of the lives that we reap. Sensei’s strange that way. Seems he learned it back in his old workplace--A’Tutu, or something like that. So I decided to humor him and mingled among the mortals.

I have to say that the time spent among the humans was truly enlightening. I got to experience life through their eyes, saw civilizations rise and fall, and walked among heroes and villains, sometimes the two being the same person. I was able to understand how beautiful the world is and how frightening it can be. These experiences made me understand a little just what Sensei is talking about. Yet, all that insight, all those experiences paled in comparison to what I encountered next.

I was in Mexico, witnessing one tribe massacre another, decrying the senseless loss of life, and let’s be honest, the massive overtime I had to do just to collect the souls of the fallen and lead them to the other side. I entered a temple honoring some goddess when I felt a life force I was unfamiliar with. I stepped into the inner chambers and found…you.

You didn’t call yourself Kiara at the time. You had a different name; one that currently slips my mind. You were worshiped by the tribe as some sort of sun goddess, but I knew who you really were--a pain in the ass immortal phoenix. One of those individuals that gives Death Sensei a headache. But I digress.

You didn’t look all that majestic at the moment to be honest, seeing as you were bloodied and broken. You were gasping and coughing up blood. Anyone who’d seen you would’ve known you didn’t have much longer to live. So I limbered my scythe and walked over to give you a mercy kill. 

Your body may have been fucked up, but your eyes still burned with fire as they stared right at me. You smirked and spoke brokenly. “A death god I see, come to take my soul perhaps?”

I grunted an affirmative. “Sounds about right. It’ll be easier if you come quietly. It’ll definitely be less painful for you.”

You laughed--a guffaw--laughed at me for saying something very rational, and that really pissed me off. Yet deep down, it made me give you props for moxy. You see, before you, no one ever faced me like that before. Other people just begged for mercy, cursed my existence or were just plain scared. I mean, what the fuck man? Hot chick (If I do say so myself) has come to take your soul and you piss in your pants. But going back to the story, yeah, you had brass balls to laugh at me and I respected that deep down. But the Duty is the Duty and Sensei would chew me out if I let you go just because you got spunk.

I readied my scythe. Before I could swing though, you winked at me and then burst into a pillar of flames. A bird came out of the fire and flew to the heavens to only the gods know where, and left me dumbfounded. Sensei later told me that this was your species modus operandi. 

It was that point that I swore I will someday reap your soul and take you to the other side. Your laugh and wink made it personal, so I asked Sensei for a few millenia off. I badgered him about it, and he relented. During that time, I roamed the globe and sought you out.

I was obsessed with hunting you down and reaping your soul. I stalked your existence from Paris to Beijing, Seoul to Bombay, Pompeii to Stalingrad. Each time, I arrived too late to prevent you from bursting to flames and ascending to the next life and that drove me bonkers. I began to study you, hoping to get a pattern on how you choose your next persona. I was desperate for a clue, anything to get one step ahead and harvest your soul before you burst into flames. 

In my pursuit of you, I lost appreciation of the world around me. Nations rose and fell, cultures came and disappeared, but none of it mattered. Only you did. So I tried to bring myself closer to my target. I came to be part of your inner circle, sometimes as a friend, other times an enemy, one time even a lover. One thing I learned is that each resurrection came with a price: you don’t remember most of your past lives. If you do, they came in glimpses like dejavus. 

Each time you died and started over, you forgot who I was, what we experienced, what you felt for me. That upset me for some reason. What started out as a wild goose chase to catch you and send you to the next life mutated into a quest for you to remember me. This constant reacquaintance pained me, but at the same time, drove me on further. I swore that if not this lifetime, then the next I would make you remember me. This forced me to build walls around my heart so that the next parting wouldn’t be as painful. 

Fast forward to a few years back. I got word that you had resurfaced in Japan of all places, applying to become an idol v-tuber. I got in line to apply for the same thing, hoping to confirm that you were really there, and to my shock, you were. That vibrant hair that reminds me of living flame made me certain it was you. 

I thought to myself,  _ 'Here we go again, time to make another connection.' _ I was gonna go to you and introduce myself but your boy choked. I froze, unable to move an inch, palms sweaty, and I couldn't breathe. I was anxious, and honestly terrified. All the centuries and lifetime of preparation, gone! Why? Coz you locked eyes with me and smiled. And, in that moment, every lifetime I spent chasing you came rushing to the forefront, and I had to erect the walls around my heart or drown in the memories of you. Memories which you no doubt have already lost. Memories that actually meant more to me than I could willingly admit to myself. 

You walked up to me, warm, confident. You tilted your head and said the most amazing thing. "Hello miss reaper! Came to take my life again?" 

I don't know if you're kidding or if by some weird way unknown to me, you remembered. My heart beat faster wondering if maybe this time it'll be different. That maybe I won't bear the pain of losing you again. But no, I won't take that chance. I'd rather distance you from me than be hurt when I eventually lose you. But despite the name calling, despite my gruffness, you just won't relent. And inch by inch, you did it Kusotori. You managed to burrow through the walls around my heart. 

Then, tragedy struck. An accident at filming caused you to be digitally erased. You died again, and as expected, you forgot me when you respawned. But this time, you fought against the curse of your resurrection and somehow remembered me. 

That event shook me. I cried myself to sleep that night and I admitted to myself that you mean the world to me. I also made plans so next time it happens, I won't lose you again. 

I timed it just right, on the eve of your departure. I created something that anchors you to me--a charm bracelet, a pair of them, one for both of us. Ribbons entwined with my hair and charms with your ash melded in them. Hopefully, this will aid in helping you remember what we mean to each other. 

I've spent eons watching you, finding you, losing you, only to find you once more. This time, I'm anchoring your essence to mine. No one's taking you from me again. Not this time. 


End file.
